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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · rock · branch · chest · mug · date · rest · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. chest — of your body
  6. date — the fruit
  7. rock — music
  8. rest — a break
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. chest — a box
  11. mug — a face
  12. shower — rain
  13. rock — a stone
  14. rest — what's left
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. mug — a cup
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. mug — to rob
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rest — what's left
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. rock — to move gently

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com